Incy wincy spider climbed up the waterspout, down came the rain…

A girl plays on a wine glass orchestra and a boy builds a spiralling city of wooden blocks. An old man and woman sit outside a lolly shop; they watch each other watching the world. Shadow puppets and paper dolls rain down and a boy and girl decorate endless rows of steaming gingerbread men.

Welcome to ‘The Playroom’ where theatre is darkly comic and accompanied by an orchestra of children’s toy musical instruments. Enter a world where little children play with adult toys and forget that even though they’re playing make-believe, the toys are real. ‘The Playroom’ is a combined installation/performance that immerses audiences in a world of dance, music, art and storytelling that will make you wish you had never grown up.

With a maximum audience of fifteen people per show the production promises to be unlike anything else at this year’s festival. Taking place in a basement underneath the main festival venues the show allows audiences to physically enter the world of the characters as they chase their dreams and flee their fears.

‘The Playroom’ is presented by Picket Fence Productions and has been written and scored by Alisa Tanaka-King and directed by Brienna Macnish. The show gathers together emerging artists who have worked with some of Melbourne’s most significant youth theatre organisations including St Martin’s Performers Ensemble, Platform Youth Theatre and RMIT Union Arts.

‘The Playroom’ can be visited twice nightly from October 1-11. Meet your guide in the Festival Hub Foyer (Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall) for performances at 7:30p.m. and 9:00p.m. (5:30p.m. and 7:00p.m. Sunday 5). There are no performances on October 6/7.

Ticketing: Concession: $12, Adult: $15Ph: 9660 9666, visit www.melbournefringe.com.au, visit the booth at Federation Square. Limited tickets may be available on the night

visit: http://picketfencetheatre.blogspot.com